초록
Kwan-gyongdo is a pictorial presentation of a $s{\bar{u}}tra$ that teaches the Buddhist way for a person to be reincarnated in the paradise of $Amit{\bar{a}}bha$ Buddha. It consists of a preface (Kwan-gyong sobun pyonsangdo) and 16 scenes of $S{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ preaching. The preface, a painting illustrating the motivation behind the production of tile kwan-gyongdo, illustrates the "Legend of King $Aj{\bar{a}}tasatru$", a tragic story in which the prince of India's Magadha kingdom murders his father, the king, to usurp the throne. The 16 subsequent scenes show $S{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ teaching the distressed queen how a person can be reborn in paradise through meditation and praying. In the kwan-gyongdo in the Mogao Cave No. 17 in Dunhuang, China, painted during the Tang dynasty (618-907), the preface and the 16 scenes are presented in one painting, whereas they are presented in two paintings in those painted in Korea during the Koryo period (918-1392). The difference is attributed to the stylistic disparity of the two periods. Despite the temporal gap between the Koryo paintings and the Mogao Cave paintings, a comparison of the two can show the characteristic development of kwan-gyongdo. Kwan-gyongdo of the Koryo period do not have the "enmity created in the previous life" scene featuring a heavenly figure and a hare, a result that shows the influence of the Tang school that deleted the scene. The scene of $S{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ preaching on the Mountain of Spirit is included in kwan-gyongdo of both the Koryo period and the Mogao Cave, but the scene of $S{\bar{a}}kyamuni$ emerging from the earth to the Magadha palace is not included in Koryo kwan-gyongdo. Kwan-gyongdo of Koryo are generally a simpler but more faithful rendering of the $s{\bar{u}}tra$.